The invention relates to a compact apparatus for the support of suspended power driven instruments, and in particular, for instruments used in dental surgery.
To provide a support medium for such suspended instruments, most manufacturers of dental surgery equipment and devices currently adopt a type of apparatus falling within a system that is generally known in Italy as S.P.R.I.D.O. (Strumenti Pendenti Recupero Inerte Doppia Operabilita, -- literally: Suspended Instruments, Inert Recuperation, Dual Operability).
Such apparatus consists in a base, or table (usually associated with the equipment pedestal), and one or more arms, hinged to and projecting from the top of the table, each one of which carries a relative power driven instrument (low speed and high speed drills, syringe, scale remover etc.).
Each such arm pivots about a horizontal axis, and is subject to the action of a spring or counterpoise that balances the mass both of the instrument and of the supply cable connecting it with the table in such a way that, when the relative grip is in use, the user will be aware practically of no more weight than that of the instrument held in his/her hand.
This type of apparatus is highly practical as it enables the user to effect operations repeatedly and precisely, even with frequent changes of instrument, and without experiencing any difficulty as regards manoeuvrability of the power cable connecting the instrument with the table. In addition, apparatus of the kind in question permits a fair amount of travel to an instrument when extended toward the patient from its retracted position, stowed at the table, to the operating position; thus, the user can work more quickly and efficiently, without continually having to adjust the position of the table.
On the other hand, the arms of such apparatus reach a certain height, when extended, that can obstruct the movement and/or interfere with the field of action of other accessories, for example, the task light, generally embodied as an electric lamp carried on an articulated arm.
The problem is a delicate one, inasmuch as any accessory items such as these ought to be positioned and then left untouched, not least for reasons of hygiene.
Attempts have been made to overcome the drawback by adopting a flexible arm, that is, embodied as a spring, to replace the rigid type, though this too occupies considerable space in the height dimension, and by fitting the table with recuperator mechanisms that incorporate sliding pulleys and ways, though such arrangements are notably complex.
Accordingly, the object of the invention is that of structuring the apparatus in such a way that its overall height will not give rise to the drawback described above.